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Page 94: "Mam says she'd like to have a nice Christmas dinner but what can you do when the Labor Exchange reduces the dole to sixteen shillings after Oliver and Eugene died? You pay the rent of six shillings, you have ten shillings left, and what use is that to four people?"

It is Christmas day and Mam wants to give her family a nice Christmas dinner, however, two if her children just died and the dole has reduced their charity to her family and what is the use of the little money they pay her now. They are too poor for a nice dinner and have to make the right decision of just skipping the dinner.

Page 63: "The next day she tells Dad mind the twins and she takes me and Malachy to the Saint Vincent de Paul Society.  They ask our names and smile when we talk. They say, lord above, would you listen to the little Yankees, and they wonder why Mam in her American coat would be looking for charity..."

The Saint Vincent de Paul society is one of the most important source of food and money the McCourts have. Angela gets food, furniture, clothing, and other goods from the foundation. Angela does not care that she has to rely on someone else to survive. At the end of the day, dignity is less important than survival.

Page 299: "I walk back along O'Connell Avenue and Ballinacurra where people have their bread and milk delivered early to their doorsteps and surely there is no harm if I borrow a loaf or a bottle with every intention of giving it back when I get my job at the post office."

At many points in the story, Frank steals food from the rich and his own family members to try to survive. He is poor and his family cannot provide food for himself so instead, he gets the idea to steal food so he can keep his stomach full. Frank sees no shame for his action, in fact, he always justifies his actions some way in his head.

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Page 120 “Paddy Clohessy has no shoe to his foot, his mother shaves his head to keep the lice away, his eyes are red, his nose always snotty. The sores on his kneecaps never heal because he picks at the scabs and puts them in his mouth. His clothes are rags he has to share with his six brothers and a sister and when he comes to school with a bloody nose or black eye you know he had a fight over the clothes that morning.”

While the book is based around the McCourts, there are tons of other people in the book who are suffering from poverty and the Clohessy’s are another good example. This quote encompasses both the idea of poverty, misery and survival. Paddy’s family is poor like the McCourts and he is miserable from the condition of his body and them not having the funds to fix any of it. He has no shoes and he shares clothes with six other people. This is something that modern day people take for granted, but Paddy had to physically fight his own family just to get a few scraps to wear. Paddy’s family does not even have the bare minimum of food or clothes, which shows the desperation of his situation.

Page 236 “It’s wrong to stay from Kathleen with the way she’s always been good to us but if I go in and ask her for bread she’ll be annoyed and tell me I’m ruining her morning cup of tea, which she’d like to having in peace ease and comfort thank you. It’s easier to stick the break up my jersey with he lemonade and promise to tell everything in confessions”.

When Angela gets sick and is stuck in bed, there is no food in the house and Frank has to take things into his own hands if he wants to survive, as well as get his mom the things she needs to hold on until someone can come help. This is the second time that Frank stole and he does the same thing both times to make himself see it as “moral". It is a morality vs survival due to poverty situation and Frank rationalizes why it is okay (the first time was on 184 when he took the fish and chips) due to the cat eating the food instead the first time and this time that he does not want to interrupt Kathleen’s morning tea, as well as saying that he will just go to confession after to clear his conscience. This goes to show that 1) Frank does not really understand the reasoning of religion and 2) that he has to commit all of these sins due to the poverty his family is in and it is either to survive and steal, which Frank knows is wrong from a morality standpoint or to die and “do the right thing” by other people’s point of view.

Page 257 “The bandages are forever sticking and have to be ripped away and when he comes home she washes the sores with warm water and soap, covers them in ointment and wraps them in clean bandages. They can’t afford new bandages everyday so she keeps washing the old ones over and over till they’re gray”.

This is another example of the poverty that another family other than the McCourts is in. Mr. Hannon has horrible legs and Frank is helping him with his deliveries. He has open sores on his legs, but since they need money to eat and survive, he has to continue to work and his legs will never heal. Also, since they are in such a state of poverty, the same gross bandages are used over and over again on his legs, which does not help with the healing process either. The basic need to just having food and some sort of shelter is jeopardizing Mr. Hannon’s health, but they have to chose one or the other due to their lack of money.

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The theme Poverty and Morality are shown frequently throughout the book as Frank and his family struggle to survive.

"Tommy, don't forget to send the money. The children are skin and bones."
This is when Angela is sending Malachy off the England. She is witnessing all of the other families send off the husband because they are desperate for some money. As the book goes on we find out that Malachy never sends any money from England and leaves Angela and the children hopeless, with no money to buy food, clothes, or rent.

"He says, There are boys here who have to mend their shoes whatever way they can. There are boys in this class with no shoes at all. It's not their fault and it's no shame. Our Lord had no shoes. He died shoeless. Do you see him hanging on the cross sporting shoes? Do you boys?"
This shows the McCourts poverty because they are too poor to buy the proper clothing. When the McCourts do get a small sum of money they spend it on food and rent, the things that are very necessary to survive. However, when Frank is at school with his worn out clothes the other kids make fun of him and can tell he is poor/from a lower class.

"She'd love a cup of tea but there's no way of boiling the water till Malachy pulls loose a board off the wall between the two upstairs rooms. Mam says, Well, 'tis off now and we might as well chop it up for the fire.'"
This shows the lengths the McCourts have to go to just to keep warm and survive in the conditions that they are living in. The land lord finds out and this gets them evicted, along with not paying rent.

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"No goose, says the butcher, no ham. No fancy items when you bring the docket from the St. Vincent de Paul. What can you have now, missus, is black pudding and tripe or a sheep's head or a nice pig's head." (pg 97)

It's one of the biggest holidays in Ireland and they have to resort to eating peasant food. The docket they bring doesn't let them achieve the nice foods for a meal. They again have to resort to eating the bad parts of the animal which are looked down upon. They take the pigs head cause it has the most meat.

"Even the poorest of the poor don't go out on Christmas day picking coal off the road... The poor are all at home having a pig's head or maybe even a goose and we have the Dock Road to ourselves." (pg 99)

The poorest of the poor are not seen on Christmas picking up coal off the ground, which makes me question where are the McCourts. They are so below poor that they have to resort to Dock road. They don't have coal so, what they are doing is necessary for them to actually eat.

"Mam can't come visit every day, it's a long way out, she doesn't have the money for the bus and the walk is hard on her corns" (pg 228)

Frank had almost a deadly case of Typhoid and is in the hospital. His mother cannot physically spend time with him because the public transit is too expensive. Public transit is made cheap for people like them. She can't spend anytime in the hospital. They are so extremely poor. Seeing her son is important, but it is too expensive for them

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“The way I look how can I ever start my job at the post office. Everything is torn, shirt, gansey, short pants, stockings, and my shoes were ready to fall off my feet entirely… my teeth are black with rot I’ll never be able to smile in my life.” (305)

This shows poverty because it shows the extent to which Frank’s condition and appearance was. He was not able to afford new clothes in years, and everything is torn. He was also filthy due to a lack of hygiene and sanitation.

“If you grow up in the lanes of Limerick you’re bound to rob the odd orchard sooner or later.” (301)

This shows the poverty levels of the McCourt’s and their town they lived in. If one didn’t steal, they would starve to death. It was bound to happen.

“…surely there’s no harm if I borrow a loaf or a bottle with every intention of giving it back when I get my job at the post office. I’m not stealing, I’m borrowing, and that’s not a mortal sin. Besides, I stood on top of a castle this morning and committed a sin far worse than stealing bread and milk and if you commit one sin you might as well commit a few more because you get the same sentence in hell. One sin, eternity. A dozen sins, eternity.” (299)

This shows morality because Frank is trying to justify his wrongdoings. Without stealing, he and his family would have died long ago due to starvation. By stealing, he is able to feed himself just enough to keep himself going and alive. He says there is no harm done if he is just borrowing it. In addition, he had already committed a worse sin earlier that day, so his justification is “what’s one more?”

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The McCourt family becomes so desperate due to their level of poverty that Angela has to go beg for help from the St Vincent de Paul Society, “Next day she tells Dad to mind the twins and takes Malachy and me with her to the St Vincent de Paul Society.” (63) Malachy, the father, associates the St Vincent de Paul Society with shame because he is too prideful to ask for help, but Angela recognizes that this is their only hope at this point in the book. This reflects the theme seed of poverty and morality in Catholicism because the McCourt family is in such poverty that they have to go against what Malachy sees is moral and beg for help from the Catholic church.

Frank later because so desperate for food that he starts stealing bread and milk from the rich parts of town. He justifies his stealing by telling himself he will pay the people back with food once he has money, he also rationalizes his sin by saying, “If you commit one sin you might as well commit a few more because you get the same sentence in hell.” (299) This reflects the theme seed of poverty and morality in Catholicism because Frank is so far in poverty that he has to sin in order to survive.

After the McCourt’s are evicted, they have to go live with Laman in order to survive. Living with Laman provides the family with shelter and food, “Throwing Mam a few shillings to send one of us to the shop so that he can have scones with his tea or a nice it of ham and a sliced tomato.” (281) Though the family is able to escape a little bit out of poverty, they have to do things to keep Laman happy like run his errands, clean the chamber pots, and Angela even has to sleep with him. This reflects the theme seed of poverty and morality because the McCourt’s aren’t financially stable enough to live on their own, so they have to go against their morals to keep Laman happy in order to survive.

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“He says, you have to study and learn so that you can make up your own mind about history and everything else but you can’t make up an empty mind. Stock your mind, stock your mind. You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.”

When Frank hears this he realizes that being poor isn’t all there is to life. He can be rich in other ways by keeping his mind sharp and full of knowledge. This is one of the only times Frank is told that there is more to life and that he has the power to make his better with his mind.

“The master says it’s a glorious thing to die for the Faith and Dad says it’s a glorious thing to die for Ireland and I wonder if there’s anyone in the world who would like us to live.”

All his life, Frank is told that he must be willing to die for Ireland and for his Catholic Faith. Faith is a place one is supposed to turn to for comfort and protection, however, Frank is being told that he must fight and die for it. This taints his view of the faith and causes him to begin to realize that something must be wrong.

“That's the kind of hair you see on Presbyterians. If your mother had married a proper decent Limerickman you wouldn't have this standing up, North of Ireland, Presbyterian hair.”
Also, Frank has always been told how wrong and bad it is to be Presbyterian. Every day he hears that his father’s Presbyterian background is a shame to the family. This can only make him feel worse about his situation and only adds to the shame his family already feels from being poor.

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Page 231- "Mam says that there is nothing left but the Dispensary and the public assistance, the relief, and she is ashamed of her life to go and ask for it."
This displays the theme seed of poverty because being at this low economic class means that you are just above the tinkers, knackers, and the beggars.
Page 236- "It is wrong to steal from Kathleen with the way she is always good to us but if i go in and ask her for bread she will be annoyed and tell me that I'm ruining her morning cup of tea, which she would like to have in peace ease and comfort thank you. It is easier to stick the bread up under my jersey with the lemonade and promise to tell everything in confession."
This shows Franks' morality because even though he is doing something wrong he promises that he will confess and tell every wrong thing that he did in confession.
The quote above also shows the importance of Catholicism in there family because the first thing Frank thinks of when he does something wrong is the church and going to confession to ask for forgiveness.

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Page 184-  “I was hungry, father, and why were you hungry? There was nothing in my belly, father”

Frank was very hungry and stole fish and chips to relieve his hunger for survival. He quickly ran to the church to go to confession and confessed his sin, but the priest had a different response than what frank had been expecting. The priest felt as if he should be doing more to help the poor people than just telling them to pray the rosary

Page 95-96- "We pee into the bucket by the bedroom door and run down stairs for the warmth of the fire Dad has already started. We wash our faces and hands in a basin that sits under the water tap by the door. The pipe that leads to the tap has to be held tp the wall by a piece of twine looped around a nail. Everything around the tap is damp, the floor, the wall, the chair the basin sits on. The water from the tap is icy and our fingers turn numb"

The description frank gives of the house describes how poor him and his family is. They have to pee in a  bucket, they have to wash their faces in a basin under the tap, and the water they use from the tap is so cold it turn their fingers numb. This truly describes the poverty they are dealing with.

page 296- "He says there's no food in the house, not a scrap of bread, and when he falls asleep I take the greasy newspaper from the floor. I lick the front page.... I suck the paper till there isn't a smidge of grease"

Frank has to lick grease of a news paper to survive. He is struggling to survive without food or money to purchase food that he has to resort to this. This shows how difficult it is for Frank at such a young age. Frank is truly living in poverty.

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Page 305- " Everything is torn, shirt, gansey, short pants, stockings, and my shoes are ready to fall off my feet entirely. Relics of oul' decency, my mother would call them. If my clothes are bad I'm worse."

Even when Malachy finally does get a job every once in a while, he doesn't have the clothes to look decent for that job. He doesn't have the money to get decent clothes to be able to stay with a job.

Page 184- " His fish and chips are on the floor in their Limerick Leader wrapping and if I don't get them the cat will so I shove them under my jersey and Im out the door....If I die tonight Im in a state of sin for stealing and I could go straight to hell stuffed with fish and chips but it's Saturday and if the priests are still in the confession boxes I can clear my soul after I feed."

This situation puts Frank in a tough decision where he has to decide whether or not he stays true to his morals and not steel because the Catholic Church will punish him, or does he do what he has to do to survive. He believes that every time he does something wrong, he can fix it by confessing it to the priest. He has to do all these things he doesn't want to do because his family is in such bad poverty.

Page 281- " Angela, this chamber pot is full, and she drags chair and table to climb for the chamber pot, empty it in the lavatory outside, rinse it and climb back to the loft. Her face gets tight and she says, Is there anything else your lordship would like this day? and he laughs, Woman's work, Angela, woman's work and free rent."

The McCourt family had to leave their house because of an eviction and are now staying with Laman. He is giving them free food and shelter. However they have to follow every order that he says and basically work for him because they are in desperate need of food and a house. They are going to work for Laman because they can't support themselves, so they will do the work around the house and go out and run errands for him to be able to stay living there.

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“My mother is a beggar now and if anyone from the lane or my school sees her the family will be disgraced entirely” (pg.250). Frank begins to feel shame on how poor his family is. His mother begins to beg in the streets because they have no money since his father has given them no money from his job in england. He feels there is shame in poverty.

"Mam says she'd like to have a nice  Christmas dinner but what can you do when the Labour Exchange reduces the dole to sixteen shillings after Oliver and Eugenn died? You pay rent of six shillings, you have ten shillings left, and what use is that to four people?" (pg.94). Due to Frank's father not working, they receive dole money but the dole money is not enough for them tp afford practically anything. They can not afford a nice christmas dinner so they end up with a pigs head and its hard for them to afford everyday food too.

"Is there anyone in this class that comes from a rich family with money galore to spend on shoes? Raise your hands. There are no hand. He says, There are boys who have to mend their shoes whatever way they can. There are boys with no shoes at all" (pg.105-106). Frank's teacher is telling his class that no one in that class is rich and most of the students are in poverty. They must not judge others for how far into poverty they are because the boys had no control over it. They also make the point that god did not have shows so do not judge the McCourt brothers because it's like judging god.

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"There isn't a scrap of food in this house, not a lump of coal to star the fire, not a drop of milk for the baby's bottle". Pg. 183-184
This supports the theme seed of poverty in Angela's Ashes. From this quote you are able to tell that the McCourts are living in extreme poverty and unable to support themselves since Malachy wastes all of their money on alcohol.

"No goose, says the butcher, no ham. No fancy items when you bring the docket from the St. Vincent de Paul. What you can have now, missus, is black pudding and tripe or a sheep's head or a nice pig's head". Pg. 97
This quotation from Angela's Ashes also supports the theme seed of poverty. During this part of the book, it is Christmas, and the McCourts are unable to have a fancy piece of meat because they can not afford it. Instead they have to get financial support from the church and settle with the head of the pig for their Christmas dinner, while wealthier families celebrate with a goose or ham.

"if I die tonight I'm in a state of sin for stealing and I could go straight to hell stuffed with fish and chips but it's Saturday and if the priests are still in the confession boxes I can clear my soul after my feed." Pg. 184
This quotation supports the theme seed of morality. Frank feels bad for stealing the drunk man's fish and chips at the pub, so in order to clear his guilt and sins, he decides to go to the church and confess.

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"I'll tell you what it is, she says. 'Tis class distinction. They don't want boys from the lanes on the altar. They don't want the ones with the scabby knees and hair sticking up."
"Mam worries because it's Sunday and the Dispensary is closed. If you go to the doctor's house and the maid sees you're from the lower classes she tells you to go to the Dispensary where you belong."
"Mam comes back to her chair and her tea. We can't stay here, she says. That lavatory will kill us with all diseases."'
In the first two quotes, the McCourts are confronted with classist discrimination from the Catholic church and doctors. The Catholic church turns away the McCourt children because they live in poverty and do not have the desired appearance. They also can't go to the doctor because they will be turned away due to looking poor and not being able to pay for the help they need. In the third quote, we can see the McCourts struggling to find safe and healthy ways to fulfill their basic human need of needing a clean lavatory.

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Page 97: "He tells Mam, no, she can't have boiled bacon or sausages and If she has any sense she'll take the pig's head before they're gone the way the poor people of LImerick are clamoring for them." The family is so poor they have to settle for pig's head for Christmas and it is not considered worthy for Christmas.
Page 32: "I make sure no one is looking, grab a bunch of bananas outside the Italian grocery shop and run down Myrtle Avenue.."
Frankie has to steal at a young age in order to sustain himself and his younger brothers. The family does not have enough money in order to keep buy basic necessities so Frankie is forced to make an adult decision at a young age.
Page 250: "This is my own mother, begging. This is worse than the dole, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Dispensary."
Mam is forced to beg to people at doorsteps for food since Malachy won't send money to the family. The fact she has to beg is worse than any of the assistance programs implemented in the area.

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page 249: " The next Saturday there's no telegram nor the Saturday after nor any Saturday forever. Mam begs again at the St. Vincent de Paul Society and smiles at the Dispensary when Mr. Coffey and Mr. Kane have their bit of a joke about Dad having a tart in Piccadilly".
This shows the theme seed poverty. It does so by displaying that the mother is willing to take the harsh ridicule of coffey and kane just for a little bit of relief.

page 238: "  I pretend to knock on the door so that I can see what's in the box, a bottle of milk, a loaf of bread, cheese, tomatoes and, oh, God, a jar of marmalade. I can't shove all that under my jersey. Oh, God. Should I take the whole box? The people passing by pay me no attention. I might as well take the whole box".
This displays poverty and morality theme seeds. Frank is deciding whether or not he should steal a box of food or not to feed his family. Him stopping to say "should i" shows he has proper morality but the push factor of poverty is a greater influence, because he ends up taking the food.

page 225: " The eyes don't heal and she takes me to the Dispensary where the poor people see doctors and get their medicines. It's the place to apply for public assistance when a father is dead or disappeared and there's no dole money, no wages".
This displays the theme seed of poverty. It does so by showing how desperate of a situation the mcCourts are in. They have to go to the last place anyone goes before becoming a beggar, the dispensary. Just by having to go there it shows how bad a situation they are in economically.

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'They scream at me and tell me I'm filthy. I try to explain that Mam has the disease and I'm worn out trying to make ends meet, keeping the home fires burning, getting lemonade for Mam and bread for my brothers." Chapter 10
This displays the theme seed of poverty as Frank is begging for his family trying to take control of his father's wrong doing. He is young, and doesn't
understand that he cant help the family in the ways he wants too. Many people send him away because he is filthy, and only wants help.
" I tell her I don't want to go, I want to work, I want to be a man. She tells me stop the whining, I'm going to secondary school and we'll all manage somehow. I'm going to school if she has to scrub floors and she'll practice on my face." Chapter 13
This is the theme seed of poverty as Frank is trying to make up for what his family lacks. However, his mother reassures that their family will be ok.
"She gives the twins their bottles of water and sugar but Malachy and I have to wait till she gets money from Dad and we can go to the Italian for tea and bread and eggs."- Chapter 1
This also shows the theme seed of poverty from the beginning of the book, and their mother's will to give. Malachy, their father, is working but spending the money on alcohol. However, they are trying to scrape up as much as possible for their family.

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"mam can't come visit every day. it's a long way out, she doesn't have the money for the bus and the walk is hard." (228)This demonstrates poverty because she is unable to do things because of the money she doesn't have.
"My mother is a beggar now..." (250) This is demonstrating this theme seed because she has to go to extremes to provide for the family and ashame the family but for a good cause.
"They can't afford new bangages" (257) This demonstartes the theme because they can not get the things that they need in every day life and that is bad.

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Page 276: "Well, 'tis off now and we might as well chop it up for the fire."
This quote shows the theme seed of poverty because Frank's family is so poor that they are constantly tearing apart their house in order to make a fire. They are forced to destroy their house because they don't have enough money to buy wood.
Page 27: "He tells me babies should be drinking milk not water and when I tell him Mam doesn't have the money he empties the baby bottles and fills them with milk."
This quote displays the theme seed f poverty and survival because Frank and his family have to go around the pubs, basically begging people for food, water, or in this case, milk. Frank's family is unable to pay for milk because Malachy continues to waste the family's wages on alcohol.
Page 69: "If you're too grand to pick coal off the road I'll put on my coat and go down the Dock Road."
This displays the theme seed of poverty and survival because at this point in the book, Frank's family has resulted to begging for coal, according to Malachy. The family has to conform to this lifestyle because they are so poor and they can't afford to buy their own coal.

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On page 1 it says "the Irish version, the poverty; the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father, pious defeated mother moaning by the fire." This quote shows how Franks explains the struggles of the McCourts at the very start of book as he grew up in Irish poverty causing much pain and suffering. Another quote is on page 23 as it writes "When Dad brings home the first week's wages Mam is delighted she can pay the lovely Italian man in the grocery shop and she can hold her head up again because there's nothing worse in the world than to owe and be beholden to anyone... When Dad brings home the first week's wages...When Dad brings home the first week's wages." The use of euphony in this quote shows the extreme happiness Angela and the family will feel if Malachy brings home his wages. Angela desperately wants to be able to pay the grocery shop and have food for her children, but most of the time she doesn't have any money to do so. Lastly on page 218 as it writes "At times like this Mam tells us to stay inside. We have nothing but bread and tea and she doesn't want the tormenting neighbors to see us with our tongues hanging out, suffering over the lovely smells floating up and down the lane." This quote shows how others are getting richer from sending the fathers off to England, but the McCourts stay poor as Malachy doesn't send any of his wages home. Frank and his family are left with no money for food, but his neighbors are able to enjoy the wonderful meats and delicious foods. Angela wants to provide the nice food for her kids, but Malachy doesn't send any money home leaving them to suffer.

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"If you grow up in the lanes of Limerick you're bound to rob the odd orchard sooner or later" (301).
Clearly, Frank and his family have struggled throughout the book. Frank decided survival was priority #1, by whatever means necessary. Robbing the odd orchard was something Frank portrays as an expectation, rather than an anomaly, given his current circumstance.

"And how will you get on the boat to Holyhead without a penny in your pocket? The way I came. There's always a time when they're not looking" (270).
This quote takes place when Malachy is about to leave for Dublin. Given their economic circumstance, Angela immediately questions how Malachy will fund his trip to Dublin over the seas, and Malachy essentially says that he will sneak his way on. This type of action is only necessary because Malachy (and his family) barely have a penny to their name.

"My mother is a beggar now and if anyone from the lane or my school sees her the family will be disgraced entirely" (250).
Frank is showing great concern for his family and the economic situation they are in and what it could mean for them socially as well. With his mom showing up at the Dispensary, Frank knows this is for people "at the end of your rope" (231), and wonders what it could mean for his family moving forward. Poverty has a societal stench and, understandably, Frank doesn't want any part of it.

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Page 199: "He sleeps on the chair, misses work, losses the job, and we're back on the dole." This shows that the McCourt family is constantly living in poverty because Malachy drinks away all his wages right when he receives them, and never gives his family the relief of being able to wake up to having any money each day.
Page: 109: "She says if Dad's job lasts we'll get proper cups and maybe saucers some day" This portray the theme of poverty because the family has not little money that they have to pray just for their father to have a job that will last for a little amount of time so they can purchase something as simple as proper cups and saucers.
Page 231: "Mam says there's nothing left but the Dispensary and the public assistance, the relief, and she's ashamed of her life to go and ask for it" this shows that the McCourts are so poverished they have to ask for public assistance and this takes a toll on Angelas because she feels this shame of dropping to rock bottom.

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Page 316: "Mrs. O'Connell and Miss Barry don't know what it's like in the lane when you knock on a door and someone says come in and you go in and there's no light and there's a pile of rags on a bed in a corner the pile saying who is it"
This displays poverty because Frank is describing his experiences with the poor when he delivers telegrams. He refers to some people as a pile of rags because their clothes seem to be made of scraps of cloth and everything is dirty.
Page 105: "If you have no shoes at all you'll have all the barefoot boys on your side. If you have rubber tires on our shoes you're all alone with your brother and you have to fight your own battles."
This shows poverty because although the boys are not barefoot, the only way they can repair their shoes is with pieces of tire rubber. They cannot afford new shoes so they try and fix them with whatever scraps they can.
Page 172: "Outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation. Outside the Catholic Church there is nothing but doom."
This is an example of the theme seed of Morality because Frank is taught that if you do anything outside of the strict guidelines of the Catholic Church you will find no salvation. Frank is taught that almost everything he does is a sin, and he is also told that if he does not act like a "good Catholic" he is going to hell. He is afraid that everything he does is a sin but he is tole he is not allowed to ask questions about the Church so he is left feeling morally unsure about his actions.